Transformation of triclosan by laccase catalyzed oxidation: The influence of humic acid-metal binding process

- Laccase catalyzed oxidation of triclosan is a second-order reaction.
- HA quenches the oxidation intermediate of substrate.
- HA bound with metals quenches the oxidation intermediate more efficiently.

Laccase is a widely present extracellular phenoloxidase excreted by fungi, bacteria, and high plants. It is able to catalyze one-electron oxidation of phenolic compounds into radical intermediates that can subsequently couple to each other via covalent bonds. These reactions are believed to play an important role in humification process and the transformation of contaminants containing phenolic functionalities in the environment. In this study, we investigated the kinetics of triclosan transformation catalyzed by laccase. It was found that the rate of triclosan oxidation was first order to the concentrations of both substrate and enzyme. Humic acid (HA) could inhibit the reaction by quenching the radical intermediate of triclosan generated by laccase oxidation. Such inhibition was more significant in the presence of divalent metal cations. This is because that binding to metal ions neutralized the negative charge of HA molecules, thus making them more accessible to laccase molecule that is also negatively charged. Therefore, it has greater chance to quench the radical intermediate that is very unstable and can only diffuse a limited distance after being released from the enzyme catalytic center. Based on these understandings, a reaction model was developed by integration of metal-HA binding equilibriums and kinetic equations. This model precisely predicted the transformation rate of triclosan in the presence of HA and divalent metal ions including Ca2+, Mg2+, Cd2+, Co2+, Mn2+, Ba2+, and Zn2+. Overall, this work reveals important insights into laccase catalyzed oxidative coupling process.

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